Natives replant palm trees for their seeds instead of logging them, which saves a bit of the rain forests. They polish the shell of the seeds and typically carve them into the shape of a button, living creature, or beautiful jewelry. Just think: an object much like a gem with all the qualities of ivory, but without harming wildlife.

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The Palma Collection, based out of La Jolla, California, is pioneering a new, versatile option for green accessories - tagua nuts. The "fruit" of a particular breed of palm tree in tropical South America, tagua nuts are referred to as vegetable ivory and it widely used as a replacement for inhumane elephant ivory. "The nut is harvested seasonally, only after it falls off the palm tree. Furthermore, it’s non-toxic," according to the company’s website. While used specifically by the Palma Collection to make jewelry, the tagua is often used for buttons and figurines as well.

Alvaro Toledo from Palma also gave me some insight on the treatment and benefits for the workers in Columbia that make the jewelry.

All the artisans are paid a living wage and they are hired as permanent employees so they can get all benefits as required by the laws in Colombia. This includes paid vacations, sick days, and a bonus at the end of the year. Additionally, the manufacturer we deal with provides such benefits as: providing economic help for employees’ kids under 18 years of age during the beginning of the year for school materials; yoga workshops to improve the posture of employees; teaching of exercises to rest the back and head; option of paid work at home on Saturdays so employees can share more time with their families; and workshops about human values.

But what about the jewelry? Don’t worry, I was getting to that. Alvaro was nice enough to send me three of the very affordable and stylish necklaces from their first collection. Ranging from $10-$44 for each piece, earrings and bracelets, along with the aforementioned necklaces, comprise the Palma Collection. Other than the impeccable, vivid colors I was greeted with, the most arresting characteristic is how lightweight tagua nut jewelry is.

For clarification’s sake, I’m not one to wear jewelry - why, I’m still not sure, but it seems needless most of the time. I also happen to favor classic and somewhat simplistic style, letting the person beneath the clothing and accessories shine thorough. So, now that we have that out of the way, I can safely say that you will be able to catch me walking around San Francisco with a Palma Collection necklace hanging from my neck. Why? Because the beauty of nature only stands to enhance the bit of beauty that humanity has left within itself. From a logistical standpoint, you barely notice that you are wearing anything until someone stops and says, "hey, great necklace!" (I can’t even begin to tell you how many times that has happened in the past week.)

So, how do you end a review here on Green Options? Well, if we are going to use a star system, I would give them a 3.5 out of 5. Pros: natural ingredients and dyes, fair labor, "uber" stylish, comfortable for everyone. Cons: No fair trade certification (will help sales and brand credability, I bet).

UPDATE: The Palma Collection was so happy with this review that they’ve extended a special offer to GO users: enter the coupon code "greenoptions" (without the quotation marks) at check out, and you’ll receive 10% off of orders placed by September 1st.